Wednesday, July 21, 2004

The Light of My Life

Sometimes I look at my new husband and shake my head in disbelief. Can I really be married to him? What does he see in me?

We met at work. His company sold my company a phone system. So I saw him often in the first year we were open. Installation, reprogramming and service calls. I remember the first time I saw him. He was standing at the front desk talking to the receptionist and I thought to myself, "Wow. He’s cute. He wouldn’t be interested in me though." I continued on to my office and didn’t think much more about it. But there were many more mornings that I saw him there when I first came in the doors. Eventually we became friends and would chat in halls or on the way out the door. I would get butterflies in my tummy when I saw his work truck in the parking lot.

So, we started flirting. The flirting went on for quite a while. That was perplexing. It seemed like he was interested. He would go out of his way to say hi or prolong our short conversations. But he just wouldn’t ask me out! Eventually, I asked him if he wanted to go out for lunch when he was next at my work. He took me up on that offer later that week. Well that was a good sign but then nothing again.

One afternoon he was leaving at the same time I was and we walked out together. That’s when it happened. He finally asked me out! Wow, was I excited. I looked forward to his call like you wouldn’t believe. As luck would have it, something came up. He never called and apologized when I saw him next.

That was fine. Apology accepted but at this point I had written him off. This guy is just not interested. I must have been imagining things. Or maybe he’s got a girlfriend and I’m just confusing him. Whatever the case may be, that’s it, that’s all. End of story.

Well, isn’t it always the way that when you finally pack it in they come around. Soon Eric called and left me a voice mail. Did I want to go out some time? Well duh!!! Sooner than you can say "first date" we had a day picked out and a time nailed down. (I wasn’t going to let it slide this time.)

The rest is history. We had an amazing first date. A long, leisurely, scrumptious dinner and conversation. We ended up kissing in my driveway for a ridiculous amount of time. By the time I went in I was floating. Absolutely walking on air. Wow. Could this guy be for real?

The next morning I still had butterflies. Would he play games? Was he going to wait before he called me again? Would we ever go out again? Could I stand it if we didn’t? The next day he called and our fate was sealed. He said "I just couldn’t wait to call you any longer. I’ve been thinking about you." Well my heart was pounding and I rejoiced. This guy is different!!! We went on to our successful second and third dates and never looked back. Three months after our first date, we moved in together and not even a year later we were engaged.

The rest is history but to this day I can’t believe that I married that good looking guy that I used to flirt with at work. Apparently he sees something in me that I don’t know is there. I honestly believe that I got the good end of this deal. He is the most amazing human being. There is a light that shines in him and I’m not the only person that sees it. Eric has broken down all my barriers and managed to restore my faith in love, trust and relationships. He has become what I thought no man could ever be to me. Eric is my best friend, my soulmate, my lover and the light of my life. He centres me when I’m off kilter. He reasons with me when I am being a crazy, neurotic bitch. He believes in me when I can’t believe in myself. He knows when to leave me alone and he knows when not to leave me alone. And he loves me the way I thought I’d never be loved.